Tabby Chic Cat Bed with GIVEAWAY!

March 26, 2016

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If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram (@littlemonkeyscrochet), you know that we’ve recently added a very unlikely member to our family. And when I say “unlikely”, I mean that never in my life did I ever think I would own a cat. My older sister was allergic to them, so I never had one growing up; and, I have always been a big dog person. Like, literally, big dogs. Not cats. While I love animals of all kinds, I just never had an interest in owning a cat. So a month ago, if you’d told me I was going to be publishing a pattern for a cat bed, I would have given you a very strange look.

But, here we are!

And that’s all thanks to Simba, the little orange cat that coughed and sneezed his way into a permanent place in our family.

He came to us with a bad upper respiratory infection, ear mites, and eyes so red and gunky he couldn’t hardly open them after a nap. And I tried really hard to stay unattached. But this kitty is impossible not to love. When I was crocheting on the couch one morning not long after we brought him home, he came over, wrapped his paws around my arm, laid his head on me, and fell asleep; and that’s pretty much how he is all the time — cuddly and sweet, and just wanting to be with people. When we didn’t receive any leads on our “lost kitty” posts for a week, I finally admitted to myself that even though I’ve never been a cat person, I really wanted to be his person. And we decided to keep him.

A few days after that decision, I hosted our church’s Women’s Life Group at my home as I do every week. One of the women who attends owns a large horse farm a few miles from our church (where my husband found Simba), and the moment she saw him, she immediately recognized him as one of her barn kitties that had been missing for a while. My heart sank. But when I told her we’d give him back (after all, my children had known from the beginning that his owners might show up), this wonderful woman didn’t even hesitate to say “No, he’s yours. I think he chose your family. God meant him for you.”

And that’s the story of how Simba chose our family!

Of course, I decided pretty early on that I needed to make him something. I thought a bed would be the perfect thing, and I wanted it to have a rustic look to it, so I headed to Michaels to find a thick, rustic yarn, and Loops & Threads Chunky was the perfect fit. I also designed a cute little tag for it and ordered the finished item from MemorableLand on Etsy. Dmitry did a wonderful job putting my vision on these wooden tags!

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About the Rescued Tag – and a GIVEAWAY!

Now, I guess Simba isn’t technically a rescue pet. We now know where he came from, and had we not wanted him, he would have been welcomed back to his farm with open arms. But I had ordered these wooden tags from MemorableLand before we had that information… and given the fact that I was in a bit of a rough patch when this little kitty came into our lives, it’s safe to say that Simba sort of “rescued” me out of the funk that I was in. Anyone who has a pet knows how healing they can be for the soul, and Simba has most definitely been that for me over the past few weeks!

The word “Rescued” holds a lot of meaning for me, in more ways than one; it’s also a meaningful reminder of how Christ rescued me, and that’s a wonderful thing to be reminded of, especially as we celebrate Easter this weekend!

Do you have a rescue pet? (Or did your pet rescue you?) Enter the giveaway below to win one of these beautiful tags made by MemorableLand on Etsy! There’s no purchase necessary, and anyone can enter. I’ll choose and email 5 winners after the contest closes at 11:59pmEST on Wednesday, March 30 2016!

Pattern Permissions

This is a FREE pattern, and by using it, you're agreeing to the following legally-protected conditions.
You're welcome to sell what you make with it; for online listings, please link back to my blog using something like this:

Pattern by
Little Monkeys Crochet
littlemonkeyscrochet.com

Here are the “do nots”:

Do not resell the pattern, altered or in its original form.

Do not copy and paste the pattern onto your own blog, in a Facebook group, or anywhere else. Simply link to this page instead. Anything beyond this is copyright theft, regardless of what your pattern-sharing buddies tell you. 🙂

Do not pull any of my photos from this site (or any of my other sites) for your own use. The exception to this is if you want to share my article link(s) on your own blog; in this case, you are welcome to take one photo per post for use on your site as long as it is accompanied by a direct link back to my post.

A NOTE ABOUT PRINTING: My patterns no longer show up when accessed via PrintFriendly.com. (This is out of my control; please see my FAQs for more info.) If you wish to print this pattern (for personal use only), you can copy & paste it into a text editing document, or purchase the inexpensive PDF (see pattern info, below).

Approximately 140 yards of Loops & Threads Chunky (<6 skeins). Sample shown in "Oatmeal" (currently sold out online, but my store had plenty). Loops & Threads Chunky is a #6 super bulky yarn, HOWEVER, if you are substituting, I would strongly recommend using a #7 Jumbo yarn. (The yarn I used really should be classified as a #7, as it's significantly thicker than any #6 yarn I've ever used.)

Special Terminology:3rd Loop - Some rows call for the stitches to be completed in the "3rd loop". Instead of putting your HDC in the top loops, reach your hook past the back loop where you'll find a 3rd loop on the side of the stitch. Insert your hook there to create your HDC. This forces both of the top loops to rest on the front of your project, creating a ribbing effect. In other patterns it is also referred to as a Camel Stitch or RibHDC.

Notes:(1) This pattern is written in American Standard terms.(2) This pattern is worked mostly in a seamless round. At Round 10, you will chain and turn, and then continue on in a seamless round in the opposite direction. This is all noted in the pattern.(3) Starting CHs do not count as stitches.

How To Make It Larger:It's relatively simple, so hopefully my explanation won't sound too complicated. What you'll want to do is continue increasing your base until it's about 1-2 inches smaller than the size you want the bed to be. On the very last repeat of the last round you did, use SC instead of HDC for all but the last two stitches; use slip stitches for the final two stitches. (This is the equivalent of Round 9 in the pattern.) So for instance, if you did 10 increase rounds, your 10th round would be:

(2 HDC in next, 1 HDC in each of the next 8 STS) 7 times. 2 SC in next, 1 SC in each of the next 6 STS, 1 SL ST in each of the next 2 STS. (80)

Then, CH1 and turn, and do a final increase round in HDC (this is the equivalent of Round 10 in the pattern). Continue on with Round 11 and follow the pattern as written (your stitch counts will be different).

Round 4: (2 HDC in next, 1 HDC in each of the next 2 STS) around. (32)

Round 5: (2 HDC in next, 1 HDC in each of the next 3 STS) around. (40)

Round 6: (2 HDC in next, 1 HDC in each of the next 4 STS) around. (48)

Round 7: (2 HDC in next, 1 HDC in each of the next 5 STS) around. (56)

Round 8: (2 HDC in next, 1 HDC in each of the next 6 STS) around. (64)

Round 9: (2 HDC in next, 1 HDC in each of the next 7 STS) 7 times. 2 SC in next, 1 SC in each of the next 5 STS, 1 SL ST in each of the next 2 STS. (72)

Note: The end of round 9 should smooth down your round to blend in, instead of ending with the jagged edge that working a seamless round causes. This will enable us to chain up in the next round, turn our work, and begin working seamlessly in the other direction.

Round 10: CH1,turn your work.(2 HDC in next, 1 HDC in each of the next 8 STS) around. Do not join. (80)

Rounds 11-14: In 3rd loops, HDC in each ST around. (80)

Round 15: In 3rd loops, SC in each of the next 75 STS. SL ST in 3rd loops of each of the next 5 STS. (80)

Fasten off and weave in all ends.

Pattern Permissions

This is a FREE pattern, and by using it, you’re agreeing to the following legally-protected conditions.

You’re welcome to sell what you make with it; for online listings, please link back to my blog using something like this:

Pattern by
Little Monkeys Crochet
littlemonkeyscrochet.com

Here are the “do nots”:

Do not resell the pattern, altered or in its original form.

Do not copy and paste the pattern onto your own blog, in a Facebook group, or anywhere else. Simply link to this page instead. Anything beyond this is copyright theft. You are welcome to copy/paste it into a document for printing, for personal use only.

Do not pull any of my photos from this site (or any of my other sites) to promote yourself or your crochet business on your own blog, Facebook page, or anywhere else. The exception to this is if you want to share my article link(s) on your own blog; in this case, you are welcome to take one photo per post for use on your site as long as it is accompanied by a direct link back to my post and does not include any portion of the pattern itself.

Do not post a translation of the pattern anywhere – this is copyright theft. If you would like to help make a translation available, I am happy to publish it on my blog with a link to your blog or Crochet-related Facebook page.

Do not make a video tutorial of this pattern (or any of my patterns). For a detailed explanation of why this hurts designers, please contact me.

I welcome all comments and questions as long as they are spoken with kindness, and I will always try to extend the same respect to you with my replies. If I feel your comment is inappropriate or unnecessarily hurtful, it may be deleted at my discretion.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: I’ve just given birth to my 3rd little monkey, a baby boy named Henry James, on 12/28/16. I may be slow at responding to messages and greatly appreciate your patience during this time of transition. I’m not disappearing, but I may not be able to help you as quickly as you need it. – Rebecca 🙂

This is such a nice idea. We were down to just 2 rescues (in the house) and 2 outside (no interest in coming in), when just last month a fine, grey boy showed up on our door step. He has made a lot of progress gaining trust, now allowing a little petting. I’m not sure if he was ever someone’s kitty, or a feral (we’ve had both). It warms my heart to know that there are other people out there who are helping give homes to homeless cats.

HA HA Reading your story sounds a bit like ours. My husband is a cat person and I was a dog person yes big dogs. My mom was allergic to cats so didnt have them growing up. I was on fb in a garage sale site and there was this post. This kitty cat needed a home my husband was looking at it a few times and no one was commenting so I decided to see if we could come and look at him. That was 2 yrs ago and he is a very happy cat here with us. Finding out the story of him we were his 5th home.

Bless you for taking in a lost, sick kitty! He will repay your kindness with his whole heart for years. And, thank you for the kitty bed pattern. I was looking for one to make for my sister’s birthday, and this pattern is perfect! Enjoy the kitten!

Both of my kitties are rescues. My first came from a local animal shelter; she and her brothers were fostered by another mama cat at the shelter. We’ve had her 8 years.

My second kitty was found in an abandoned barn by a former coworker as a teeny kitten. We got him at around 5 weeks old and I still had to feed him kitten formula. He’s almost 6. Both cats are my shadows and follow me around everywhere. They’re the best!

I have Rourke (i didnt name him) the ragdoll he was 12mths old when he came to me, his previous owners decided he wasnt for them so gave him to a bad cat breeder that put him in a cage for for 6 mths and he was forgotten. When i chose him and brought him home he had no social skills and was very timid. i let him out of his carrier and he hid i ,tried to get him out from behind the lounge but got slashed in the process, no one had cut his claws or looked after him, he was all matted and dirty. 9 years on and lots of cuddles he is the nicest , sookest cat you wiill ever meet

That so awesome 😉 My daughter takes in rescued dogs, rehabilitates them, and finds them loving homes, but 2 of them , she just couldn’t give up…Charlie, is a Pitt Bull, and is the biggest loving teddy bear I have ever seen, and Ranger, well we have him 🙂 he is so full of energy 🙂 and is a American Pitt Bull Terrier ..yet another loving and caring dog 😉 so I know first hand how animals can “choose” you 🙂 can these two certainly have 😉

This post warmed my heart. I always thought I was a dog person too. And now we have 2 rescue cats and 2 rescue dogs. So, we pretty much live in a rescue zoo! 🙂 So happy for Simba and your family!! Cannot wait to make 4 of these for our fur babies! (We have tiny dogs. The cats are pretty much the same size!)

We have a 10 year old rescued British Lab named Chloe. She is the light of our lives now that the children are grow and gone. We’ve had her for 8 years and can’t imagine life without her. She is my constant companion. We had a rescue cat named George for 14 years. He came to us in much the same way as your Simba. We had never owned a cat either and I was hesitant at first, but when we lost him I was the most heartbroken of all. He was the most affectionate cat I have ever known. If I could be guaranteed of another as loving as George, I would get another one tomorrow! Happy Easter!
Blessings,
Betsy

Thank you for this sweet pattern!! I look forward to making it for my cats (3 of them, all rescues; they also have a rescued dog brother) & for the cats at the local shelter, where I volunteer every Tuesday morning.

We have 4 rescue dogs…. 3 weigh less than 15 lbs each and one is a shepherd/lab mix. My daughter also has 3 rescue cats (she has her own apartment, thank goodness…lol) so I think I’ll be making some for my grandkitties!!

My son, who is a senior at ULMonroe Louisiana, recently rescued a kitten and named him Dash. I want to crochet this for Dash, as I’m sure he is a welcome distraction from the stress of finals. His finance’, who is also a senior, has rescued 3 kitties. We love them all. Thanks for your cool patterns.

I have two cats (Sacred Birman) and they are the reason I am alive today! My life hasn’t been easy. I am Autistic (and have 4 other diagnosis too). I was diagnosed late (I was 19), but luckily for me I have always had me parents support and they really respect my boundaries and me as a person ?
Isabella moved in almost two years ago and it was love at first sight! She was 4 years old and came from a wonderful breeder! I was amazed by how well she dealt with my stress level which was pretty high at that time. Instead of pulling away when I started to panic, she would come and comfort me. I have been so far out, that life just seemed too hard, but Isabella reminded me of the responsibility I had said yes to when I adopted her, and I couldn’t just leave her! I was so lucky that the breeder actually offered me the opportunity to adopt Isabella’s daughter, who had just been neutered. I was about to move, but was able to say yes, and Ida then completed our little family ❤️ She has the same wonderful gift as her mom. I call my cats my therapist because the calm me down when I am stressed, they comfort me when I am sad and crying and they give me a reason to choose life even though it is filled with more down then ups… Luckily my two beautiful girls are worth every single punch life throws at me and I feel blessed that I have been given these two furry healing miracles ❤️❤️ I decided long ago that I don’t want children, but as I little girl I dreamt of having two girls. What I now know is that my two cats are actually those two girls ? I love my girls as if they where my biological children and they have truly rescued me from ending my life ❤️
I wish you and your family (including our newest little furry member) all the best ? And I hope you’re little guy will be by your side for many years to come ??
(I’m sorry for the long story and if I have made any grammatical errors ? But I am from Denmark…)

Aren’t Birmans beautiful? I have been blessed to have been owned by two; one a gorgeous blue-point, who sadly passed away at the far-too-young age of 10 from lymphoma. I have a 14 year-old seal-point neuter who is such a momma’s baby and loves to wrap his front paws around my neck and cuddle under my chin. Both of these fur-babies were/are show cats and I’ve loved them every bit as much as the many rescue animals I’ve had.

Hi Rebecca! I came over to print out your cute pattern for the cat bed, but when I read your story, I had to smile. I grew up in Las Vegas and growing up, my family never liked cats, and my parents always said I was allergic. Well, same thing…I always loved dogs and had dogs, then sadly my 16 yr old dog died. My friend knew someone that was giving away orange kittens and I was told if it didn’t work out, I could give them back. All I wanted was the orange tabby with the white nose but got talked into taking his sister too because two cats keep each other company! Yes, I never wanted cats but came home with 2! Ok, too long of a story but I had to share! Fetzer & Shatzie are now 14 this April, and they have turned me into one crazy cat lady! I never knew cats could be so sweet and lovable. So here we are now living in Seattle and before we left Las Vegas, we adopted Lucy…she was our latest addition. You can see photos on my IG if your interested. I love your crochet patterns and now you have a sweet orange tabby to help you with your designing endeavors. Thanks again for sharing such lovely patterns! Can’t wait to hear more about Simba too. 🙂

Such a wonderful story. Simba does look very happy in his new bed in his new Forever Home. We lost our first rescue dog, Gentle Ben, 2 years ago to old age. He was such a wonderful, faithful, gentle giant. We miss him so much. We presently have three more rescues – Molly we adopted @ 6 weeks and she is now 12, Riddic as a 5 week old kitten who barely filled your hand and is not a 22-lb 7 year old and Chomper, who was rescued originally by my daughter, but when the twins came, Chomper didn’t like them, so a year ago, he came to Gramma’s house (he is also 7 yrs old). LOL. They have all had their issues but all have been such wonderful additions to our family. I hope you have many, many happy years with Simba.

My daughter and I rescued a kitten only a week ago and we are very happy with her. She was in a deplorable living situation and a very nice lady from Planned Pethood took her away and saved her life. She is a therapy animal for my daughter and a really sweet girl. I once had a cat just like your Simba but a deeper ginger and he was the best snuggle buddy you could ask for. Captain Marmalade will always be in my heart!

We just rescued a kitten last summer! He was only about 5 weeks old, and was mewing when we walked past the AC units outside our church. My DH said, “That’s a cat,” but I thought it was just a mockingbird. Then it mewed again, and DH said, “No, that’s a cat!” We went looking for it, and I was terrified we’d find it hurt and cut from the fans on the AC units! But it wasn’t by the fans. It took a little while, but we finally located him under one of the units! He came to my hand right away when I reached under!
I located a large box for him, went next door to the convenience store to get some food for him (they only had people-food), and left him alone and crying in our Sunday school room during the church service. He was very glad to see us when church was over!
Pippin is an active cat! Loves jingle balls and strings of any kind, but will also cuddle when he’s ready to rest. He’s a gray tabby with mostly white underneath. He has gold eyes, and they don’t miss anything! I’m teaching him that string attached to knitting needles or crochet hooks is off-limits!
We’re glad he decided to mew when we walked by!

Similar happened to me 16 months ago, after suddenly losing my husband a year and a half prior and our 14 year old basset hound Daisy Josette soon after. A calico showed up by my front door–weak, sick, and hungry. Her nature was sweet, gentle, and loving. Come to find out, her owner had moved away and left her. She had a huge bulge that appeared and disappeared on one side that turned out to be a hernia. I named her Marigold, and we became best friends. I believe my husband sent her to me. After surgery, medicine, nourishment, and a loving home, she is happy and healthy. We are best friends.

4 rescues here soon to be 5. I will have to make 3 of them since none of my 3 will sleep together. Then I will have to make a couple of larger ones for my dog (since he seems to think he can go wherever they do). My dog is from the humane society will be getting a friend soon hopefully from the same place (he needs a playmate to work off some energy). 2 cats from a lady moving into no pet apartment, one cat wandered onto porch at 6-7 weeks old. I could not find any others from the litter and no idea who dropped off in the country – lucky the coyotes did not find first.

Love your story! Little Simba is so lucky, and I agree that God sent him straight to you and your family! Last year our dog passed away, leaving our 2 year old cat really sad. We decided to start looking for another cat, and shortly after being Reccomended to get a boy cat around her age we saw a craigslist ad of someone who was basically going to just let their cat loose when they moved if someone didn’t take him. At first I knew nothing about the cat (age, health, etc) so I went to take him overnight just so I could at least get him to the local SPCA and keep him off the streets. Turned out he was only 10 months old and we instantly fell in love with him. We took him to the vet the next day ( had fleas, but other than that was totally healthy) and that was it! It’s amazing how these little lives come to us exactly when they are meant to ! Hugs for Simba !!!

my cat is HUGE,
to make the basket bigger, do i just continue the logic of the circle (2 HDC in next, 1 HDC in each of the next 5 then 6, 7, 8, STS) to make it bigger? will the borders still work with the same logic?

We have four rescue cats. Two are from the Humane Society, Pita and Peanut, one is from another rescue group in our area, Puff, and one, Sweetpea, we kept when my daughter rescued four kittens while she was in California. She was visiting in California and staying with friends of a friend. They had a mother cat the put down for no good reason. She had six kittens. Two of those had already died. These people just left them out in the yard with no food or water and expected that they would wonder off. They were only about six weeks old at the time. My daughter tried to find a shelter for them out there but at that time there were fires in the hills and the shelters were filled. So, when she came home after a couple of weeks she brought them with her. We adopted out two of them out. And we kept two. The runt my daughter kept and the only female adopted my husband. That was about seven years ago. Love all my babies.

A few years ago I had to put my cat down that I had for 14 years. It was horrible. A few months after that I got 2 kittens from a farm. It was Thanksgiving and really cold and they were outside. My idea was that I wanted life in the house but they would have each other to bond too and not me. Now I have two kitties that stole my heart (didn’t think that was possible after my baby of 14 years died.). Love those tow!

We have four rescue cats. Two, Pita and Peanut, are from the Humane Society and one, Puff, is from another rescue organization in the area. Our fourth was rescued out in California by my daughter. She was visiting a friend of a friend and found four kittens that had put the mother cat down and left the kittens to fend for themselves figuring they would go away. They were only about six weeks old at the time. My daughter tried to find a shelter to take them but they were pretty full due to fires there. Two of the kittens were adopted out, one my daughter kept and the fourth, a female, adopted my husband. Love them all.

My Mickie turned 16 in February. She’s a rescued Lab from NC – a high kill state. We think that she is ‘nose-impaired’ and wouldn’t make a good hunting dog and simply left her out in the woods! She’s the sweetest, silliest and puppiest 16 yr. old black lab I’ve ever met! Even though she sheds multiple dogs per day, we love her absolutely! Rescues Rule!

Saturday is my 39th wedding anniverssry. I married a man with a house thank backs a 30 mile parkway so there are cats dumped habitually. Over the years I’ve took care of 4 diabetics and had 3 that needed surgery for FUS as well as several fairly healthy ones. They’ve all become wonderful indoor cats–top many to count. Presently we have a mom and her 3 kittens who are 13 years old, a gold tabby and his black and white sister and a grey tiger who is “as dumb as a box of rocks”! My husband has dementia now so I spend a lot of my time crocheting in the living room , loving him and loving my furbabbies.

Many, MANY cats have rescued me as many as I have rescued.. Crochet rescued me, from a depression I never thought would end, it did. With a hook. & a book.. The Lords book, my crochet hook & in my life time, hundreds of cats, rescued, saved, some returned but all loved. Amazing story about your Simba. Cats are amazing , enjoy your new family member.

Have had many rescue kitties over the years and every one has enriched both my and my family’s life in some way. God loves all his creatures and we owe it to Him to help in providing homes for the many animals who so desperately want someone to love them and that they can give their unconditional love to. God Bless you!!
(Love your patterns, too!)

I have 4 cats that we rescued when they were kittens from under a pile of junk on the property of our new home. We also just adopted another cat that showed up and needed a home! This cat bed will be perfect.

Loved the blog on Simba. We also have been rescued by the unconditional love of our pets. Nothing is more relaxing to me than sitting on the sofa knitting or crocheting with our kitty asleep next to me or the pup asleep on my lap.

We rescued our cat, Amber, shortly after Hurricane Katrina. She was so tiny and meowing very loudly in our next door neighbor’s yard. When I went over to see her, she came running into my arms. She was covered in fleas and very hungry. I had other cats so had some flea medication for her, but I kept her on our enclosed porch for the night til I could get her to the vet the next day. She came up healthy and flealess when we brought her. Nobody every came looking for her, so we just kept her. She’s been our indoor cat since then, 10-1/2 years now.

What a super cute kitty and a great story! I am sure that he choosed you as his family and that’s a huge compliment! Thanks for the pattern and a great giveaway. I am sure that you’ll forever be thankful for the day Simba made his way into your family’s life and became a member of your pack ??

We have a beautiful rescued orange tabby. He’s about 6 years old now. He was found in -30° weather with his siblings. Someone dumped the whole litter and they were taken to the animal shelter. Jimmy was very very sick, with a fever and runny eyes etc, and one of the ladies at the shelter took him home and bottle fed him for three weeks. Can you imagine? I love our shelter, they go above and beyond! I had lost my cat and needed a furry fellow so I went to the shelter. I carried him around the shelter for 25 minutes, playing with other cats. But he snuggled up against me right into my neck and it was clear: I had been picked by this cat. He melted my heart. They guessed he was about 5 mo old when he was rescued and 8 mo when we adopted him. He loves beds too!

I have a couple cats that just showed up and adopted us so they stayed with us. One of our cats was actually dumped in the recycle bins at our recycling center when he was just a wee little kitten. My husband brought him home and he is a permanent fixture now. He had huge ears and looked like a little bat. Thus we named him Batty Coda (from the movie Fern Gully), he is simply called Coda now.

We rescued 2 Chihuahua Puppies from our local shelter 4 years ago. There isn’t a day that goes by that they don’t have us smiling or laughing at something they are doing. They seem like little mice scurrying around the house! They are our kids and we are proudly ‘Daddy Dog and Mommy Dog.

At the time I was in school working on my associates degree to become a veterinary technician. We adopt dogs and cats from the shelter, we spay/neuter them, de worm them, vaccinate them, and of course love and play with them. At the end of the semester we adopt them out. Well the day we went to pick up the dogs from the shelter, 3 dogs were dropped off that morning in a wired caged on the side of the road by the shelter. So we took those and several others that day, when we brought them back to school, I immediately fell in love with this 20# black dog, that we had named, Clover. I claimed her that day and couldn’t be more blessed with such a sweet, loving dog. I’ll never understand how someone could give her up like that.

I have two rescue kitties and am currently making a bed for the big guy (20 lbs) and and your pattern is perfect for my little lady (6 lbs). They are both 7 years old and I rescued them within two weeks of each other. Big guy from dumpster at 5 weeks old and little girl about 2 months old from parking lot by my work.

I personally don’t have any pets at the moment. But there are two rescues in my life that I consider mine. One is my sister’s cat. She came from a friend who was moving to a new home where pets were not allowed and was going to be put in the SPCA. My sister said no that’s awful and brought her home 🙂 The other is my best friend’s dog. A coworker of hers found the dog roaming the streets of Pittsburgh. After a month of no one claiming her the doggie became part of their already pet friend home 🙂

I have a rescue golden doodle. After her breeder was done with her, and I must say she came from an excellent breeder, she need a loving family to spend her well earned “retirement” yrs in. She found that with us. I adopted her when she was 5 and she is now 11 1/2. She is the sweetest most loving dog I have ever owned.

I love the fact that you found a pet to love! I have a ‘rescued’ puppy as well from the pound in my town! He is so sweet and I love him ALOT..truly pets are a gift from our loving Heavenly Father! Thanks for sharing ❤️

I have had a few cats that I have not so much rescued as they decided to adopted, but one day 3 years ago my Hubby came home with the cutest black and white kitten. He was about 3 months and had shown up at my brother in laws and no-one had claimed him. It was love at first sight, he was in a rough way, dirty, fleas and mites. A quick visit to the vets got him sorted. He was my soul mate, no cat has ever affected me as much as Loki did. I have always loved my cats but he was something extra special. The first night he fell asleep wrapped around my neck and it was the best feeling in the world. Sadly we had him for less than a year before we lost him. I was devastated, he has left a massive hole in my heart and I still miss him so much. I doubt I will ever feel like I did with him again, but I have fantastic memories of the cat who stole my heart.

I have a puggle who showed up on our front porch and like you, we tried to find her previous owners but no luck, so she became ours. 7 years later she really has “rescued” me instead of me rescuing her!

I have a rescue cat, too. A coworker found him 2 years ago on Good Friday in a cemetery. She was there to clean up winter debris around their family plot. He is black, was barely old enough to be weaned, was skinny & all alone. She fostered him for me until I moved to my current apartment. I named him Poe, after Edgar Allan. Seemed appropriate. He’s a bit of a stinker, still into mischief, but also cuddly and playful. Kind of dog-like. He plays catch, turns around 3 times before he lays down. I don’t know what i’d do without him.

I have a Siamese I rescued four years ago (actually, she rescued me).
She is my fur baby and I jokingly refer to her as the Queen. People who
say cats are not affectionate truly do not know what they are talking about.
When I return home, she stays with me and only wants to sit in my lap or on
my shoulder.

I rescued a Siamese four years ago and I would be lost without her. Anyone who says cats are not affectionate truly do not know what they are talking about. When I return home at the end of the day, she only wants to sit in my lap or on my shoulder. I fondly refer to her as the Queen and tell friends she is my owner. I would be lost without her.

I’ve also recently had a rough patch in my life and my rescue Ethel, a 5 year old black cat, also found me during this time! I’m so glad she showed up when she did, i absolutely adore her! She is going to love this bed 🙂

I’m so happy for you and Simba! That will be a lasting friendship to stand the test of time! My Favorite breed has always been Rescued! Currently I share my heart and my home with 2 rescued snakes (1 purchased), 2 rescued bunnies, rescued hedgehog, rescued cat, even the dog I’m hoping to train as my service dog is a rescue! (he’s doing pretty good so far!) And there have been many others over the years from mice and guinea pigs on up to more cats, dogs, and even a flying squirrel named Pumpkin! Give Simba a few extra cuddles for me tonight and congratulate him on finding such a great human to rescue!

I was feeding a feral that decided I was the human she wanted to adopt. I went to get her some food one day and when I opened the bag I found an adorable little grey kitten looking up at me. After posting flyers at every house within walking distance and calling all shelters, I too adopted this little guy. The feral who would not come close to me adopted him as her own as well. Now all of us have a happy home.

It seems I have inadvertently become a rescue mom to several living creatures – cats, dogs, fish, guinea pigs, and even children. Every time I help someone or something, my heart fills a little more. I can’t help myself 😉 Thank God my husband is as patient and understanding as he is! I just can’t stand to sit and know someone or something is suffering. It is my calling to help!

Over the past few decades I have rescued many feral cats. I have always been rewarded with lots of snuggles and hugs from them. The first one also was sick with a respiratory illness but a trip to the vet quickly remedied that. Last month I took in a mother and her 2 month old kitten. She is about a year old and tested positive for FIV but she is still a welcomed member of my family. She has now been spayed and vaccinated. In a few more months, her son will be neutered. He is not old enough yet. I feel my cats have rescued me as much as me rescuing them since they provide me with their company and warmth. It is amazing how much body heat comes from a cat!! I love your “rescued” tag!!!! And thanks for giving us the bed pattern. My cats will love it.

I have a rescued Orange Maine coon mix and his name is SIMBA. We rescued him 4 years ago and he is the best most loving cat we have ever had. We love him more than he can possibly love us and believe me, he loves us a lot. He is the kind of cat that absolutely loves being with us. Either on our laps or sharing my pillow with me during the night. He just wants to be near us at all times. Rescued pets are almost as lucky as the people that adopt them. We have a Keeper.

We have a little flock of rescued chickens! With the big trend of backyard chicken keeping, some people get into it without thinking things through or have an emergency come up and can’t keep their chickens. Right now we have two chickens that came from another family that had multiple human medical emergencies, one from the city shelter (her whole flock of 11 was abandoned – we took in three of them, but two had to be euthanized last year due to ovarian cancer), and one from another family that didn’t feel equipped to care for her (she has a wonky beak and needs special food and water containers). We also have 3 baby chicks that our co-op bought day-old for a spring chick sale, but these 3 arrived with most of their feathers picked off, so the co-op manager asked me to foster them because she knows I’m a softie (and home all day). It turned out to be the right place for them, as we had a massive storm a couple weeks back and people lost power all over the city, but ours stayed on so the chicks didn’t lose their heat lamp. I’m trying not to get too attached to them (so hard!), but we’re pretty sure the littlest one will stay with us forever because I’m a sucker for the underdog.

My husband and I have a “rescue” kitty. Her name is Kamaryn. She is a calico and was adopted from a shelter. She will be 2 yrs old on May 8. It’s hard to imagine life without her. We are so attached to each ot

Both of my pups were rescues. Roxie (who has gone over the rainbow bridge) chose me, and Lola, well, we chose each other. I wouldn’t trade my rescues for ANYTHING. They rescued me just as much as I did them. <3

All of our cats my whole life have been rescue kitties! They’re the best! And thanks for pointing us in the direction of Memorable Land, I think I found the key rack for our new home that we have been looking for!

We have two rescued pets. Smudge was a Humane Society find. She is a petite tuxedo cat. Our Jack, a Jack Russell/Beagle, was found by my college roommate. Jack was wandering the streets of Pittsburgh when the city was paralized by a terrible winter storm. My friend posted a picture on FB looking for Jack’s owner. We offered to take him if she could not find his family. A fews days later she found Jack’s family ut they told her they could not give him the life he deserved and Jack was ours if we wanted him. The next day my friend drove Jack from Pittsburgh to us in rural Ohio.

I receive emails from Lion Brand & I saw the “Shawl in a Ball” yarn. You’re right it did make me want to try it right now. I am going to check around & see if it has hit the stores near me. I am definitely going to try it & I really like your “Providence Scarf”. It is very pretty & the color you used is just right for my sister.
She is a purple person. Thank you.

What a wonderful story. I’ve rescued and been rescued before. Right now I’ve a Boston terrier whom we chose but she rescued me as she’s me unconditional companion when my husband works nights and weekends as a paramedic. I’d be really lonely otherwise. Can’t wait to make the bed though as my dog will love it – she’s cat size – and my eldest has cats at her house. Win win!

I have our girl, Kitty Ashlyn.
We actually found her in Texoma Craigs List.
Poor little girl lived in a home with 2 wolves, 3 other kittens, her mama & drugged out humans.
As we walked out the door with our girl, the female human said “if you really don’t want her, bring her back”. I told my husband “No Way”
She’s been with us for almost 3 yrs now.
She’s my kitty girl

I currently have a pit bull and 4 kitties. The pit was found on the side of the road when he was a baby. One of my cats was abandoned by her mother and the other 3 were taken in to help out friends that had to many. I love my babies!!

I am totally one of those crazy crocheting cat ladies lol. I currently have 3 rescue kitties and 1 rescue dog. I am super excited to have found this pattern and I am starting on it today. These would be great for the local animal shelters too 🙂

I rescue dogs and cats, and right now I have 4 foster dogs plus 2 dogs and 2 cats of my own–all rescues too–who are very gracious about sharing their home with these dogs waiting to find their forever homes. I crochet crafts under the name Kennelkrafter to sell to help pay their vet bills. Thank you for the chance to win one of these beautiful tags.

I was rescued, too. I found Fluffy giving birth under the neighbors van. All the feral cats in the neighborhood were converging. So, I crawled under the van, not an easy task for this 65 year old with a herniated disc and scooped her up with the first kitten born. She had three more, they all died with in a week from distemper, but mom was well. She went to the vet and was spayed and given necessary medical treatment and now she is my little girl. Love her, she is a joy and doesn’t chew on my yarn, but lays quietly in my lap when I knit or crochet. I have to make her this bed. Thank you so much for the pattern.

I love the story of how Simba chose you and your family! I do believe that God led him to you, for you needed him as much as he needed you. I am a cat lover, my favorite kitty ever is an orange tabby, they are wonderful! God bless!

I actually work for a rescue and have 4 rescues who live with me permanently. I’ve had rescued dogs/cats for 18 years now. I don’t know how anyone survives without a 4-legged furbaby to brighten their lives.

All of my animals have been rescues. The dog I have now, Jhett, was brought into the vet clinic I worked at. The guy said he found her in a cage on a large store’s parking lot. He couldn’t keep her as he lived in an apartment and the local humane society was closed. So I took her home and the rest is history!

We currently have 4 cats, and ALL are rescued cats ages 14 down to 1 year. I remember reading somewhere that cats don’t like to be petted. Well, that must not apply to ours, because they’d let us pet them 24/7! Thanks for your cute patterns!

My lady cat Nala snuck out and became pregnant two years ago. She birthed early 5 stillborn kittens. She was miserable and paced the house for two days howling and could not be consoled. The vet said it would take a while. On day 3 I came home from work and my daughter who worked at a pet store had brought home a teeny newborn kitten someone found in a ditch! It still had its cord! We gave that kitten to Nala and she loved it and nursed it and raised it as her own. Our rescue cat rescued OUR cat! We believe in Divine intervention and miracles, we believe the Lord gave our Nala the baby she so needed and He gave that baby the mama he so needed. Nala and her Baby (now 14 pounds) are very happy to this day!

I really enjoyed reading this article about how a cat found you. I had to put my cat down in Jan at the age of 16 years. He was an amazing little cat and I miss him terribly. I know another cat will come into my life at the right time. Until then, I’m going to crochet several of these beds for friends of mine who operate an animal rescue group. Those tags will be perfect!

I have three felines that rescued me. My first is a male grey tabby named Sam, my second is a beautiful calico named Ellie and my third is a “brown” tabby, she actually shares the colors of Ellie and the stripes of Sam, named Sienna. Sienna was the only kitten of the three when she adopted me. They are all very special to me for many reasons, Sam was my first, Ellie calms me if I get too excited, medical conditions, and Sienna, she’s my baby and wants to be held like one too! Thanks for the pattern.

I rescued a cat that looks exactly like the cat you rescued, mine is named Oliver. I am not a big cat person, but since he has been raised with my Maltese mix he thinks he is a dog. I am happy that I adopted him.

/Love the orange kitties (well all of them, truth be told). Have one called Beau and not strictly a rescue, since he was one of 3 litters that my son’s barn cats had. He is not a cuddly as your Simba, so enjoy! I will have to make one or two of these beds. I have another cat called Baby who is a furry tortoiseshell. I guess she would be called a rescue. I adopted her from a shelter. She and her littermates were left w/o a mother and was were found by some people who brought them to the shelter. I would only ever adopt and not buy a pet.

I’m so pleased you said that Simba rescued you! I have 3 rescued dogs & through them I found the answer to the question ‘ what do you want to do when you grow up?’ I now volunteer for a dog rescue charity, run fundraising auctions & get to make loads of gorgeous things to help raise funds with. We occasionally help cats too & lots of our supporters have both cats & dogs, so I’ll definitely be giving this bed a go. Thank you for sharing. Xx

Felix is our ‘foster fail’. Someone at my last church came and got me right before church one Wednesday night. He took me & showed me a small kitten, about 5 weeks old that he had ‘rescued’ from the brush near the church (he clearly was a feral, and probably should have been left where he was. His momma was probably nearby). I took him home with the intent of giving him away. We already had 2 adult cats. It turns out the person I was going to give him to was going to let him be an outdoor kitty. As small as he was, he wouldn’t have lasted. Now, at 4 years of age, he has turned into a beautiful black kitty, with velvety fur. Sadly, he seems intellectually challenged, and is pathologically afraid of almost everything. He spends most of the day hiding under the couch or our bed, but does occasionally come out at night, and loves to be brushed.

I would consider all of our pets “rescue” pets, in that we’ve gotten all 3 dogs and 2 cats from our local shelter… They are all special in their own way and really adopted us, more than we adopted them! I still remember us going to the shelter to look for our first dog, and all of them were barking and going crazy…all except for Charlie (a yellow lab). My daughter (she was 3 at the time) and I walked over to his cage where he was laying down; as we approached, he rolled over on his back for us to scratch his belly. We knew then, he just had to come home with us! He was 2yrs old at the time, and he will be celebrating his 10th birthday this June!

This is so sweet!! We have had our rescue kitty for 4 years. She is the sweetest cat ever, loves to cuddle and purr :). We recently also rescued a Dalmatian bully mix. We went to the adoption fair not expecting to adopt, but when I put my hand in that pen and Zoey licked and loved on me that was it. Something happened that I can’t explain but it was instant and I had to have her!! She’s definitely my baby, she follows me everywhere, I can’t even take a shower without her right beside the tub with her head peeking around the curtain keeping watch over me :).

Between my two grown daughters and myself we have 4 rescue cats! We’re all living together right now, so they have needed to adjust to their kitty cousins.

We have a ginger-haired boy named Toulouse that looked a lot like your Simba when he was a baby. He and his litter mates were found abandoned by a landlord when his tenants moved out and took the mother cat. They were fostered by a local cat shelter and all found good homes. We have Toulouse and his sister Marie, who are just as cute as there Aristocat (Disney) namesakes.

My baby Katie came from a farm 11 years ago and is my constant companion. The last member of out kitty family was adopted from Miami when my daughter was a student there.

Both of my daughters feel they were “rescued”, as their cats came into their lives during rough patches. They’re all spoiled rotten, so I see some of these cute lounging spots in their future!

I was just wondering… in your instructions, you said we should use a 19mm crochet hook, but the recommended hook size for this particular yarn is 11.5mm. Isn’t a 19mm hook too big as compared to an 11.5mm one? I hate it when my crochet work has “gaps.” I crochet VERY tightly (if it’s got holes, I unravel my work and start all over). So if I use the recommended hook size, will the cat bed turn out smaller — or at least, significantly smaller?

I won’t be able to order Loops & Threads Chunky since we don’t have this particular brand in the UK. I’ll have to choose a different brand, such as Sirdar Hayfield or Robin Super Chunky… The recommended hook size for most brands I’m currently looking at is 10mm, so I’ll probably need more than 140 yards (around 130 meters) of yarn. I’ll also need to tweak the pattern a little bit.

I’ve been rescuing kitties my entire life. Last summer my fiance and I saved a tabby. We already have a cat, Lucrezia van Necker Bouville (short version: Lucrezia :D), who doesn’t tolerate other cats, so we couldn’t keep him. He was adopted in September. Last year he has rescued 3 kittens from a cemetery (those 3 kittens were the cutest, most adorable I’ve ever seen), and I myself rescued 2 kittens in the summer of 2014. They all got adopted. My entire family has been rescuing kitties and cats as well. My dad saved a fluffy little one who got bitten by dogs; my sister saved 3 kitties from a local park. I also saved some kitties when I was a kid (most got adopted; I kept one, who died a few months later…). My boyfriend tried to rescue a few newborn kitties. They were just one week old or so. I tried to feed them, keep them warm, and make them pee, but they eventually died. My fiance and I cried a lot, but I guess those poor little ones couldn’t survive without their momma cat.

I’m glad you’ve rescued Simba. He looks just like one of my old cats, who was stolen from me about two years ago. He was the most loving cat ever — he would wake me up in the middle of the night with his wet muzzle, wanting to be caressed. So did his sister.

One more reason to read your blog. I hope you’ll post LOTS of cat patterns!

Yes, it will turn out smaller. I don’t know if you can tell from the photos, but when I used the S hook, there were no holes in the work. Everyone’s tension is different though. There are instructions for resizing up in the Notes section if you wish to use a different hook and are concerned about it coming up the right size.

Dear Rebecca,
I love your patterns and I have crocheted many of them! Your story about Simba is so touching. I have 5 “rescue” kitties… 2 rescued from under my back porch!! I too know the healing power of God’s little creatures. I also know I am the rescued one! Thank-you for sharing your story!

Your first 4 rounds should measure 7″ across (it’s up in the pattern info). Also up in the pattern info are instructions on how to make the bed larger, and that info would also help you to be able to adjust with whatever yarn you choose. Instead of trying to find the perfect hook size, you can simply increase until the bed is the size you want it to be, and then follow those instructions to complete it. 🙂

I have 77 year old eyes and can barely read the light grey and light aqua type on this web page. Would LOVE to crochet this for my daughters cat but cannot. What ever happened to back and white? I “fussed” at AOL once for using yellow on white and that has since changed. Otherwise I love the pictures.

Yellow Tabbies have a loving nature that is greater than most cats. You are so fortunate. I have had cats for most of my life (I am now a great grand mother). With just a few exceptions most have been super cats; but the best were my yellow cats. I am looking forward to making your cat bed.

I am going to make these for my rescue kitties counting three now… Two were from the Humane Society and the one was a feral cat that had kittens in my shed and after I tamed down and found home for the kittens (after shots and fixing 🙂 ) I then found out that mama would let me pet her and started trusting me. She has now been in my house for a year and has no desire to go outside. I also trapped and fixed the feral male but he has no desire to be close to humans….

I have designed cat beds that I make for the local Humane Societies here. It is made out of Chunky yarn so it is not as expensive as these. The cats love them and the staff at the places love when I come in for a visit.

What a lovely story! I hope Simba is still doing well, and I am so touched you decided to welcome him as a permanent member of your family. I volunteer at a cat rescue that helps place cats in their “forever homes,” and your story was wonderful to read. I love your patterns, and have made two of your hats for myself and one of your scarves as a gift for my mother, but somehow I missed this beautiful story until today! Thank you for sharing Simba’s story and your beautiful patterns.

Hi!
I want to say that you did in fact rescue Simba, she was sick, tired, hungry, and most of all homeless when you found her. Just as our Lord has said and I know that I am not quoting the verse as said in the Bible, but what I took it to mean. If you feed, nurse a sick person or animal back to health, give a safe place to rest, and give a home to a person or animal, you have done so to God.
So thank you for taking Simba into your home. All of my cats have rescue stories.

I am a knitter at heart and trying to break into the crochet world–I wondered if you could explain to be the “2 HDC, 1 HDC in the next”? I did try and google/youtube etc. which is where I normally find these answers. Is the 2 HDC, 1 HDC in the front and 1 in the back loop of each stitch??

Are you referring to round 3, which says “(2 HDC in next, 1 HDC in next) around”? If so, that’s just a typical increase in crochet. You’re just putting 2 half double crochet stitches in the next stitch you come to, and then 1 HDC in the next stitch, and then 2 HDCs in the next stitch, 1 in the next, etc all the way around. All of these stitches are done in both loops.

Hi Rebecca,
I have been trying to add this pattern and others from your site, but I can not access members log in. I have paid your member fee but I have not been able to add any patterns to my account.
If you can tell what I need to do I wold appreciate it. I have no idea how to refresh a page as it keeps telling me to do.
Thanks for your help.
Ami

Hi Rebecca. So I am having a hard time with this pattern for some reason. When I was using the S hook, the bed came out as big as a dog bed. So I tried the 15mm hook and when I checked my gauge? It was 9″ instead of 7″. Then I tried a P hook (11.50) but it was so tight I couldn’t get my hook through the loops. What am I doing wrong? Do you have any suggestions? I was thinking of crocheting until I get to 17″ across then continuing the pattern that way. I don’t crochet tightly. My tension is pretty normal so I just don’t understand.

I️ found your wonderful site this morning in my Pinterest email. I️ clicked on your scarf picture and that was it ! I️ fell in love with them both! My daughters will each (3) receive one for Christmas..can’t wait to start them tomorrow. Got to go hobby lobby and get the yarn..thank you for sharing this pattern . Looking forward to making more lovely items with you..Diane G

I just wanted to say, I dont currently have a rescued pet, but I too have been rescued by Christ. It’s great to find a fellow crafter, animal lover and parent saved only by the grace of God. I had 4 little ones and now have 4 grandchildren. One of my grandkids lives with me, with his parents. He has some learning disorders due to a lack of oxygen at birth. He is just over 2 now and a real joy. I am so blessed.
Sorry. I changed subjects. I love to crochet and quilt and am always looking for new patterns like this one (for my niece’s kitties). I don’t usually write my own patterns but sometimes rewrite them (not yours). Lol. Anyway, it’s always a great pleasure to come across another lover of Christ. I wish you the best.

I'm Rebecca, a wife, mom, and tryer-of-new-crafty-things. I love to crochet, and I try to design patterns that the younger generations will love to make and love to wear. You can get to know me a little more here!